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Abstract:

A network connector structure includes an insulating body having a port
inwardly formed at a front-end surface of the insulating body, a
containing space formed in the insulating body insulating body, and a
first circuit board and a second circuit board parallely installed and
electrically coupled to each other. A plurality of connecting terminals
and a plurality of filter elements are electrically coupled to the first
circuit board, and at least one network integrated circuit and a
plurality of soldered terminals are electrically coupled to the second
circuit board. The network connector is electrically coupled to an
external transmission line through the plurality of connecting terminals,
and electrically coupled to a motherboard of an external electronic
device through the plurality of soldered terminals, so that the network
integrated circuit inside the network connector provide network signal
encoding/decoding functions directly.

Claims:

1. A network connector structure, electrically coupled to a motherboard
of an external electronic device, comprising: an insulating body, having
a port inwardly formed at a front-end surface of the insulating body and
a containing space formed in the insulating body; a first circuit board,
installed in the containing space, and having a plurality of connecting
terminals and a plurality of filter elements electrically coupled to the
first circuit board, and the plurality of connecting terminals being
extendibly installed in the port; and a second circuit board, installed
in the containing space and parallel to the first circuit board, and
electrically coupled to the first circuit board, and having at least one
network integrated circuit and a plurality of soldered terminals
installed on the second circuit board, and the other end of the plurality
of soldered terminals being extended downwardly and protruded out from
the bottom of the network connector; such that the network connector is
electrically coupled to an external network circuit through the plurality
of connecting terminals, and the network connector is electrically
coupled to a motherboard of the external electronic device through the
plurality of soldered terminals.

2. The network connector structure of claim 1, wherein the first circuit
board and the second circuit board are perpendicular to the motherboard
when the network connector is electrically coupled to the motherboard.

3. The network connector structure of claim 1, wherein the first circuit
board and the second circuit board are parallel to the motherboard when
the network connector is electrically coupled to the motherboard.

4. The network connector structure of claim 1, wherein the first circuit
board comprises a plurality of front-end contacts formed thereon and a
plurality of back-end contacts disposed at positions away from the
plurality of front-end contacts, and the second circuit board comprises a
plurality of front-end contacts and a plurality of back-end contacts
disposed at positions away from the plurality of front-end contacts, and
the plurality of connecting terminals are electrically coupled to the
plurality of front-end contacts of the first circuit board respectively,
and the plurality of soldered terminals are electrically coupled to the
plurality of front-end contacts of the second circuit board respectively,
and the network connector further comprises a plurality of signal
transfer terminals respectively and electrically coupled to the plurality
of back-end contacts of the first circuit board and the plurality of
back-end contacts of the second circuit board.

5. The network connector structure of claim 1, wherein the plurality of
filter elements include a resistor, a high-voltage capacitor, a
transformer or any combination thereof.

6. The network connector structure of claim 1, further comprising a metal
casing for covering the insulating body.

7. The network connector structure of claim 1, wherein the first circuit
board further comprises at least one protection device installed thereon.

8. The network connector structure of claim 7, wherein the at least one
protection device is a transformer, a transient voltage suppressor (TVS),
a gas discharge tube (GDT), a high-voltage capacitor, an electromagnetic
interference (EMI) protection element or any combination thereof.

9. The network connector structure of claim 1, wherein the second circuit
board further comprises at least one protection device installed thereon.

10. The network connector structure of claim 9, wherein the at least one
protection device is a transformer, a transient voltage suppressor (TVS),
a gas discharge tube (GDT), a high-voltage capacitor, an electromagnetic
interference (EMI) protection element or any combination thereof.

Description:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to connectors, in particular to a
network connector.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] As the electronic industry blooms, various electronic devices are
continuously developed and introduced in our life. In order to input a
control instruction to control the electronic devices or transmit data
between the electronic devices, most electronic devices are equipped with
a plurality of connectors installed on a motherboard. Signals transmitted
and received by various connectors are encoded/decoded by at least one
integrated circuit (IC) installed on a motherboard. For example, a RJ-45
network connector is electrically coupled to a motherboard of an
electronic device, and an external network circuit is connected for
receiving external network signals. After the network connector receives
a network signal, the network signal is transmitted to the motherboard,
and after a network integrated circuit installed on the motherboard is
used for decoding the network signal, a corresponding component such as a
central processing unit (CPU) installed on the motherboard is used for
operations. On the other hand, if the motherboard needs to transmit a
network signal to the outside through the network connector, the network
signal is transmitted to the network integrated circuit and encoded
first, and then the encoded network signal is transmitted to the outside
through the network connector.

[0003] However, the installed connectors occupy much space on the
motherboard, so that the installation of one or more network integrated
circuits on the motherboard will waste much precious installation space
on the motherboard. In a process of developing electronic devices,
miniaturization is a mainstream design factor of the electronic devices,
and it is an important subject for related designers and manufacturers to
save spaces on the motherboard.

[0004] Obviously, a novel connector capable of encoding/decoding network
signals without installing any additional network integrated circuits
required to overcome the problems of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to
provide an improved network connector structure with the functions of
encoding and decoding network signals by a network connector without
requiring the installation of any additional network integrated circuit
on a motherboard of an electronic device.

[0006] To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention
provides an insulating body, a port inwardly formed at a front-end side
of the insulating body, and a first circuit board and a second circuit
board installed inside the insulating body, wherein the first circuit
board and the second circuit board are parallely installed and
electrically coupled to each other. The first circuit board is
electrically coupled to a plurality of connecting terminals and a
plurality of filter elements, and the second circuit board is
electrically coupled to at least one network integrated circuit and a
plurality of soldered terminals. When the network connector receives a
network signal, the network signal is sequentially processed by a filter
element and a network integrated circuit installed inside the network
connector and then transmitted to the outside

[0007] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the
following effects. The network connector has a built-in network
integrated circuit, so that the motherboard no longer requires any
installation of additional network integrated circuits to encode/decode
the network signal. In other words, it is not necessary to reserve any
wiring space on the motherboard for installing the network integrated
circuit, so as to save precious installation space on the motherboard.
Further, the filter element and the network integrated circuit are
integrated into a single network connector, so that the signal
compatibility can be tested and calibrated during the manufacture, and
the stability of the network connector can be enhanced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the
present invention;

[0009]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the first preferred embodiment
of the present invention;

[0010]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of
the present invention;

[0011]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the second preferred embodiment
of the present invention;

[0012]FIG. 5 is another cross-sectional view of the first preferred
embodiment of the present invention;

[0013]FIG. 6 is another cross-sectional view of the second preferred
embodiment of the present invention;

[0014]FIG. 7 is a further cross-sectional view of the first preferred
embodiment of the present invention; and

[0015]FIG. 8 is a further cross-sectional view of the second preferred
embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] The technical contents of the present invention will become
apparent with the detailed description of preferred embodiments
accompanied with the illustration of related drawings as follows. It is
noteworthy that the drawings are provided for the purpose of illustrating
the present invention only, but not intended for limiting the scope of
the invention.

[0017] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 for a perspective view and a
cross-sectional view of a network connector in accordance with the first
preferred embodiment of the present invention respectively, the network
connector 1 comprises an insulating body 10, and a port 101 inwardly
formed at a front-end side of the insulating body 10 and having a
containing space 102 formed in the insulating body 10.

[0018] The network connector 1 further includes a first circuit board 12
and a second circuit board 14 installed in the containing space 102 of
the insulating body 10. In the figures, the first circuit board 12 and
the second circuit board 14 are installed parallel to each other, and the
first circuit board 12 is electrically coupled to the second circuit
board 14. The first circuit board 12 includes a plurality of connecting
terminals 11 and a plurality of filter elements 13, and the plurality of
connecting terminals 11 are extendibly installed in the port 101 of the
second circuit board 14. When an external network circuit (not shown in
the label) is plugged into the port 101, the terminals in the network
line are respectively and electrically coupled to the plurality of
connecting terminals 11 of the port 101 and provided for transmitting
network signals through the network connector 1. More specifically, the
network connector 1 of the present invention is a connector with the
RJ-45 specification, and the port 101 has a shape corresponding to the
shape of the RJ-45 connector, and the quantity of connecting terminals 11
includes but not limited to eight.

[0019] In this preferred embodiment, the filter element 13 is mainly used
for filtering the signal transmitted by the network connector 1, and the
filter element 13 can be comprised of at least one resistor, capacitor,
transformer or any combination of the above. In the figure, the filter
element 13 is a transformer, but the invention is not limited to
transformers only.

[0020] The second circuit board 14 includes at least one network
integrated circuit (IC) 15 and a plurality of soldered terminals 17, and
an end of the plurality of soldered terminals 17 is electrically coupled
to the second circuit board 14, and the other end of the plurality of
soldered terminals 17 is extended downwardly and protruded out from the
bottom of the network connector 1. Therefore, the network connector 1 is
electrically coupled to a motherboard 2 of an external electronic device
through the plurality of soldered terminals 17 and provided for
transmitting network signals with the motherboard 2.

[0021] The network signal transmitted by the network connector 1
(regardless of being transmitted from the motherboard 2 or from the
external network circuit) is encoded/decoded by the network integrated
circuit 15 of the second circuit board 14. Therefore, the motherboard 2
no longer requires any additional installation of another network
integrated circuit, so that the space of the motherboard 2 can be saved
significantly to achieve the effect of miniaturizing the electronic
device. Further, the filter element 13 and the network integrated circuit
15 are integrated into a single network connector 1, and the signal
compatibility can be tested and calibrated during the manufacturing
process to enhance the stability of the network connector 1 and lower the
manufacturing cost of the electronic device effectively.

[0022] In this preferred embodiment, the first circuit board 12 and the
second circuit board 14 are installed parallel to each other, and the
first circuit board 12 and the second circuit board 14 are perpendicular
to the motherboard 2 when the network connector 1 is electrically coupled
to the motherboard 2.

[0023] With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 for a perspective view and a
cross-sectional view of a network connector in accordance with the second
preferred embodiment of the present invention respectively, the internal
configuration of the network connector 1 is compatible with that as shown
in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the only difference resides on that when the
network connector 1 is electrically coupled to the motherboard 2, the
first circuit board 12 and the second circuit board 14 are parallel to
the motherboard 2.

[0024] The first circuit board 12 further includes a plurality of
front-end contacts 121 and a plurality of back-end contacts 122 disposed
at positions away from the plurality of front-end contacts 121; and the
second circuit board 14 also includes a plurality of front-end contacts
142, and a plurality of back-end contacts 141 disposed at positions away
from the plurality of front-end contacts 142, and the plurality of
connecting terminals 11 are electrically coupled to the plurality of
front-end contacts 121 of the first circuit board 12, and electrically
coupled to the plurality of filter elements 13 of the first circuit board
12. An end of the plurality of soldered terminals 17 is electrically
coupled to the plurality of front-end contacts 142 of the second circuit
board 14 and electrically coupled to the network integrated circuit 15 of
the second circuit board 14.

[0025] The network connector 1 further includes a plurality of signal
transfer terminals 16 respectively and electrically coupled to the
plurality of back-end contacts 122 of the first circuit board 12 and the
plurality of back-end contacts 141 of the second circuit board 14, and
the first circuit board 12 and the second circuit board 14 are
electrically coupled to each other through the plurality of signal
transfer terminals 16 to transmit network signals.

[0026] It is noteworthy that the network connector 1 further comprises a
metal casing 100 for covering external surfaces of the insulating body 10
to provide a metal shielding function for the network connector.

[0027] With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 for other cross-sectional views of
a network connector in accordance with the first and second preferred
embodiments of the present invention respectively, the network connector
1 further comprises at least one protection device 18 installed therein
and electrically coupled to the first circuit board 12. The protection
device 18 can be a surge protection component including but not limited
to a transformer, a transient voltage suppressor (TVS), a gas discharge
tube (GDT), a high-voltage capacitor, an electromagnetic interference
(EMI) protection element or any combination of the above. The protection
device 18 is provided for protecting the network connector 1 from being
damaged by a high-voltage surge which is produced during a thunder and
transmitted to the network connector 1 through the network line.

[0028] With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 for further cross-sectional views
of a network connector in accordance with the first and second preferred
embodiments of the present invention respectively, the protection device
18 is electrically coupled to the first circuit board 12 and/or the
second circuit board 14 depending on a manufacturer's settings of the
network connector 1.

[0029] It is noteworthy that the production of a high-voltage surge mainly
occurs at a thunder, and the high-voltage surge is transmitted from the
network to the network connector 1. When an external signal is received,
the signal is passed sequentially through the plurality of connecting
terminals 11, the plurality of filter elements 13, the network integrated
circuit 15, the plurality of soldered terminals 17, and finally
transmitted to the motherboard 2. To protect the network integrated
circuit 15 from being burned or damaged by the high-voltage surge
occurred at a thunder, so that the protection device 18 must be installed
in front of the network integrated circuit 15.

[0030] In the present invention, the filter element 13, the network
integrated circuit 15 and the protection device 18 are integrated into a
single network connector 1, so that the installation space on the
motherboard 2 can be saved significantly, and the manufacturing cost can
be lowered effectively. As to manufacturers, the network connector 1 of
the present invention is indeed a great boon.

[0031] While the invention has been described by means of specific
embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto
by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit
of the invention set forth in the claims.

Patent applications by Nai-Chien Chang, New Taipei City TW

Patent applications in class Contact soldered to panel circuit

Patent applications in all subclasses Contact soldered to panel circuit